Red Cross honors 9 'Hometown Heroes'

Photos by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanJeremie J. Wentworth, left, poses with Donald G. Lubeck, the man he saved from a house fire in June. Wentworth was one of nine Hometown Heros the American Red Cross honored this morning. Both men are from Belchertown.

Mark R. Ecker II of East Longmeadow, right, accepts a Hometown Hero award this morning from the American Red Cross. Ecker is shown with is father, Mark.

By JIM KINNEY
jkinney@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD - Donald G. Lubeck of Belchertown made sure today that he had a little packet of tissues in his hand before the 2008 Hometown Heroes breakfast began.

"It's going to be that kind of day," he said. "I get emotional."

Lubeck, who was at the breakfast, said the only reason he is alive, is because of his neighbor, Jeremie J. Wentworth.

Wentworth saved Lubeck from a fire at his home in June, and was one of the nine Hometown Heroes the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross honored with trophies and video tributes at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I tried to get inside, but the smoke and flames ..." Wentworth said. "I found a ladder in the woods."

Lubeck said he was getting ready to jump before Wentworth climbed a ladder to get him. Getting injured in the fall didn't bother him as much as the prospect of burning.

"That's a terrible way to go," he said.

Army Sgt. Mark R. Ecker II of East Longmeadow received a standing ovation when he received his award. Ecker lost both his legs below the knee after an improvised explosive device went off as he lead a patrol through the streets of Ramadi.

It was his second tour of Iraq. Walking on prosthetic legs, Ecker took to the podium and said he was humbled by the award. He dedicated it to his fellow soldiers who lost their lives.

"I consider myself the lucky one," Ecker, now 22, said.

He's home now, working out and getting back in touch with friends. He's married and hopes to start college in the fall, study engineering and learn how to create better and better prosthetic limbs in the future.

This is the sixth year the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross has hosted the awards as a way to recognize community spirit, said Paige Thayer, director of chapter development. Today's fund-raiser grossed $65,000, although Thayer said she does not yet know what the chapter's net profit will be.

Honorees also included Veronica Navarrete-Vivero of Springfield. She's a clinical psychologist who helped found and is chief executive officer of Sunrise-Amanecer Inc., a group that helps members of racial and cultural minorities.

Kevin J. Kularski of Wilbraham risked his life last summer to rescue an 8-year-old girl in pounding surf off York Beach, Maine.

Jeannine C. LaMontagne of Chicopee is a crossing guard at the Lambert and Lavoie Elementary School. While working last September, she grabbed two little boys and pulled them out of the way of an oncoming car.

Jeshua G. Charette and Joseph P. Charette of Palmer saved a man, three children and a dog from a capsized canoe where the Ware and Quaboag rivers meet to form the Chicopee River.

The brothers are in the Marines and were unable to attend the ceremony.

Bertha Brown of Springfield is a missionary at the Victory Temple Church of God in Christ where she runs a food pantry that serves 175 families a week.

Brian D. Strange of Chicopee helped pull 87-year-old Thomas J. Kelly of Springfield from a burning car in January 2007. Strange was the first person to Kelly's overturned Buick.